“Developing the ability to identify, describe, and understand a feeling is termed emotional literacy. Think of feelings words. Children who learn to describe their feelings as well as the feelings of others have better outcomes in school and other areas of life. These children also display less challenging behavior, get into fewer fights, and deal with frustration better. When adult caregivers take time to explicitly engage children in activities that build emotional literacy they ensure a brighter future. While we may have a vague understanding of what emotional literacy is, it can be difficult to know ways we can build this capacity in children. Here are 5 easy ways to build the emotional literacy of children…”(more)

“Your infant child is watching what grabs your attention—so perhaps it’s time to put down that phone and focus on the toy of your baby’s choice. Doing so may boost the kid’s brain development, and chances of future success, by teaching him or her how to keep their own attention focused on the task at hand, a new study shows. Infants pay more attention to objects while playing when their caregivers do the same, but their eyes wander when a parent’s own gaze is distracted. The findings, published today in Current Biology, suggest that caregiver attention can aid in the development of sustained attention span in very young kids…Studies in kids from age 1 through grade school have shown that greater attention spans, even at a very young age, are a good predictor of future achievement. Focused attention also helps key cognitive achievements such as problem solving and language acquisition.”(more)

“Parenting is as personal as it gets, and so much of it comes straight from the gut. You know your child best. And at the end of the day you have to make decisions about what’s right for them using some unknowable combination of instinct, experience and trusted personal advice. But that doesn’t mean that the world of science doesn’t have a lot to offer caregivers, especially when it comes to understanding and promoting their children’s health. With that in mind, here, in no particular order, are 10 of the most interesting health studies from the past year that every parent should read. You’re the expert, but science can help.”(more)